A depressed customer; plz guide

[karthik1107]

Dear Auto Guru,
On 24/April/06, i purchased a used Maruti Esteem VX of 1998 model(66000 Kms, 3 owners) from Bimal Auto's Maruti True value showroom. According to their rules they dont give warranty cover for vehicles older than 7 years. I got the deal done for 1.90 Lakhs. I am aware that, i can get the same car for 1.40 or even less in the outside market. The reason i went to true value is the trust that, for the extra money we are paying, they sell only accident free vehicles and also they refurbish the car before delivery so that we dont ve to worry about the car, as told by my friends and true value website.
After taking the delivery i found some problems with the car and took the car to my personal bosch certified mechanic who services top end cars including merc, volvo et all...
He gave a huge list of things to be fixed. Which included weak front suspension which needed a replacement. (the car has done 66k+, which means a weaker shock is possible, as i read in a website).
I went back to the showroom and asked them to fix it. But they refused to do that. They say every thing is perfect and shocks need no replacement. I told them, "though i was not able to figure out exactly what it was but my, my mechanic was able to figure out all the problems" so plz replace this and give me.
The reason they gave was, if you are not satisfied, tell us the problem we'll fix it (by overhauling and not replacing).
. Morover, according to our standards its fine and we cannot replace anything unneccessarily. They gave all irresponsible replies for other issues. They are talking in an intimidating way. I am totally depressed of taking a used vehicle paying such a high amount.
I am sure they would ve taken the vehicle for less than 1.4 and selling it for 1.9 or more. With such a huge margin why are they so greedy about profit and not concerned about customer satisfaction?
please guide me, what i should do, as my vechicle doesnt come under waranty, i'll have to shell out 5k for shocks in the near future (my mechanic said its totally gone and cannot be overhauled)..
Regards,
Karthik
9886159370

[DCEite]

Many things:
Consumer forum
Communicate with top management of MUL (send them a copy of this mail)
Write to automobile mags (autocar/overdrive)

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by dceite

Many things:
Consumer forum
Communicate with top management of MUL (send them a copy of this mail)
Write to automobile mags (autocar/overdrive)

Seriously will that even help... They are going to come up with "You should have had the car analyzed before taking delivery" stuff like that...

I suggest take it as a bad deal (i know you lost money) spend the other 15 to 20 k on the car after getting the car analyzed by another mechanic also.. preferred a maruti authorised dealer/service station...Get a quote from them also... see the difference...

tell me is there anything else that can be done...other than running around courts and writing to mags...

[man23ish]

I would say approach a lawyer and send a legal notice to Bimal Motors, True value division, with a copy to MUL office in bangalore or where-ever it is.

If they don't get back to you within 15-days, approach the consumer courts and even if that doesn't work, go public. Write a sensational article in a leading news-paper.. Atleast that would get the attention of common public and I have reasons to believe that the pig-heads at Maruti True Value will be forced to do something about your car. You can even claim a decent amount of compensation for the torture and other things..

Remember, there is delay for justice but there should be no delay for injustice.. And your case sounds like a clear case of injustice..

[karthik1107]

The guys talk with all sugar and honey coated words before the deal is done. THe moment you give the D.D, they show their real face. THey dont care a damn about customer satisfaction. I drove 30 kms to reach their show room yesterday(after confirming over phone), they have asked me to come again on tuesday for a shock overhaul.

Though a proud Indian, At times unable to do things about these cheaters, i feel sick to be in India.

In foreign countries, the company themsleves call-off the models in case of even a minor mistake. WHy are these unscrupulous guys not bothering a damn?

Is there anything wrong in my part having shown the car to my personal mechanic .They say, we cant satisfy mechanics but its upto our standards.

[karthik1107]

Thanks manish,
what you ve told is the only final option...
I'll wait for two more days and see if they are replying...

[panky12345]

karthik: Write a LLOOOOONG mail explaining everything, each of ur experience to Top mgt at MUL. they will surely help. trust me.....or better still, go to s/room once gain, scream out, create a scene there, and when the mgr comes, tell him that u gonna seek a perosnal revenge of who sold u the car! had i been in ur place, i wd've done that! forget ethics! its ur bloody hard earned money!

[LLL]

Actually. true value's and dealers claims that they cannot satisfy every mechanic's claims seems quite rational.

However, I would recommed the following actions:

1) Dealer has said that you should provide them the list of problems and they will fix it by overhauling. Hence you should provide them the list of problems and allow them an "opportunity" to "fix" these problems by overhauling.

2) Since the problem is not likely to go away, tell them that they failed in fixing the problem by overhauling, hence they now need to replace the parts.

3) Since they will not replace the parts, you can freely approach consumer courts...

I had a bad experience with True value - i had a 97 maruti 800 and wanted to exchange it for a Zen. True value guys first quoted 35k for my 800, saying that the car was accidental and rusty!! Then they saw that i wouldnt buy the zen from them, they raised the quote to 45k. Finally they paid me 55k through a thrid party, which was 50% more than their original quote.

How do you trust such a company??

[[i sold the 800 to the third party and didnt buy the Zen. Thats another story...]]

[humyum]

Dude..Do one thin..if u are not satisfied with the car..complain,create a scene..do whatever possible..dhamkis of consumer court will mostly work..or contact very high level maruti guys..they are really nice..nd understanding..nd will mostly solve ur problem..nd if not..i got a nice idea..go to another true value dealer..show him ur car..dont tell him u got it just recently..tell him 2 do the quality checking stuff he does..nd then he will tell u all the problems the car has got..nd how much he can pay u for the car..get all this in writing..nd then DIRECTLY go to BIMAL AUTO..nd show him what another maruti dealer has got to say...nd then ask him to take the car back..or u complain directly to marutis top executives..

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by panky12345

karthik: Write a LLOOOOONG mail explaining everything, each of ur experience to Top mgt at MUL. they will surely help. trust me.....or better still, go to s/room once gain, scream out, create a scene there, and when the mgr comes, tell him that u gonna seek a perosnal revenge of who sold u the car! had i been in ur place, i wd've done that! forget ethics! its ur bloody hard earned money!

Ha-Ha, I like the intention, but being practical and respectful that wouldn't help. It will just give the showroom manager more ammunition as you reveal your vulnerable self.

Originally Posted by humyum

i got a nice idea..go to another true value dealer..show him ur car..dont tell him u got it just recently..tell him 2 do the quality checking stuff he does..nd then he will tell u all the problems the car has got..nd how much he can pay u for the car..get all this in writing..nd then DIRECTLY go to BIMAL AUTO..nd show him what another maruti dealer has got to say...nd then ask him to take the car back..or u complain directly to marutis top executives..

Again good intentions, but you see when you take the car to another true-value dealer, the first thing he will ask will be your RC book and papers. If the Bimal True-Value guy has not endorsed your RC book and papers this might work.. But if at all the fellow has endorsed any of your papers, the new True-Value guy would not even bother looking at your car. He'll just refer you to check with the Bimal True-value dealership.. These folks are all hand in glove and they have a well-planned network..

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by LLL

Actually. true value's and dealers claims that they cannot satisfy every mechanic's claims seems quite rational.

However, I would recommed the following actions:

1) Dealer has said that you should provide them the list of problems and they will fix it by overhauling. Hence you should provide them the list of problems and allow them an "opportunity" to "fix" these problems by overhauling.

2) Since the problem is not likely to go away, tell them that they failed in fixing the problem by overhauling, hence they now need to replace the parts.

3) Since they will not replace the parts, you can freely approach consumer courts...

Very reasonable and rational approach. I second that thought.. But you need to prepare a sound strategy yourself or in consultation with a lawyer before taking them on..

[ranjan united]

one big word: SUE. i'm surprised though tht u didn't get the car checked up before purchase.

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by man23ish

Again good intentions, but you see when you take the car to another true-value dealer, the first thing he will ask will be your RC book and papers. If the Bimal True-Value guy has not endorsed your RC book and papers this might work.. But if at all the fellow has endorsed any of your papers, the new True-Value guy would not even bother looking at your car. He'll just refer you to check with the Bimal True-value dealership.. These folks are all hand in glove and they have a well-planned network..

The RC books are never transferred to the true value name... when you sell a car to true value they take a NOC from you thats all... the next person buying the car they will transfer the car directly to their name....

@ranjan united - thats the problem... he did not get the car checked.. if this was done prior to buying the car this would never have happened... no offence karthik1107... people make mistakes..
Forget my previous post... get back at them.... create a rucus...

[nitrous]

Maruti Tru Value is a normal used car dealer with "Maruti's" name.

I'm sorry for ur experience.But, i wouldn't go to a place just by its advertisements and publicity.

I have a few friends in the used car market and know every utter cr@p that goes on in this business.

What u can do is go to their showroom during busy hours when there are a lot of customers and U can shout at them about what they have done and drive all their potential clients away which will make them attend to u.

[karthik1107]

Its a good Idea to visit another MASS(maruti authorized service station) and ask for an estimation. I have been given with a copy of the RC. Still the paper work is pending. the truevalue guys havent endorsed anything till now.
Now i can hold their collars with their own mechanic's advice slip...

It was a really great support from you guys... Just within hours, i was able to figure out the next step...

Proud to be a member of this group and i hope it resolves well...